The National Rifle Association, quite conspicuously, said literally nothing in the wake of last week's massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary at Newtown, Conn. Instead, the group very carefully took its time, crafted a specific message to present to the public, which would present the NRA and its vision in the best possible light.
And this train wreck is what the group came up with.
To call this a press conference is to mislabel what transpired. The NRA's Wayne LaPierre decided to give a speech, and the group refused at the outset to consider questions from the reporters that had been invited to the event.
It went downhill from there. It was hard to tell at times whether LaPierre was serious or had become a spectacular performance artist, making a dramatic statement about the absurdity of the NRA's increasingly twisted worldview.
Regardless, his performance is worth watching, if only to marvel at its farcical qualities, but don't brush past the substance of his message. As LaPierre sees it, there's a very long list of culprits that bear responsibility for gun violence -- but guns have no place on that list.
The NRA leader this morning blamed gun-free school zones, the media, the entertainment industry, video games, music he doesn't like, existing gun-control laws, and President Obama as all sharing collective responsibility for tragic violence. Guns, however, are fine.
LaPierre was willing to call for a new national database. Of firearms? No. Of gun owners? No. What the NRA wants instead is a new national database of Americans with mental illness.
This was a public-relations fiasco that only John Boehner can properly relate to.
But let's pay special attention to LaPierre's most important policy proposal.
As the NRA leader sees it, the only proper solution to "a bad guy with a gun" is ... wait for it ... "a good guy with a gun." With that in mind, LaPierre's big new idea is armed guards at every school in the United States.
No, seriously, that's what he wants.
Of course, school campuses can be awfully large, and the guards can't be posted at every entrance, so I'm not sure why the NRA isn't also suggesting armed guards be assigned to every student in every school.
Indeed, massacres aren't limited to schools, so it stands to reason that the nation will also need armed guards "deployed" -- a word LaPierre used in his speech -- to movie theaters, shopping malls, and houses of worship.
And what happens when people go home? People are sometimes shot by criminals in their own house, which suggest we'll need armed guards at all U.S. homes, too.
You get the point.
Honestly, it seemed like LaPierre was going out of his way to alienate even people who might be skeptical about new gun laws and sympathetic to his arguments. Gun-control advocates shouldn't have been annoyed by the NRA's public-relations disaster, they should have been thrilled.
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Have a national movement for people to voluntarily turn in there guns in exchange for being able to place a name on a National Childrens Medical Facility for children suffering from gun shot wounds or other traumatic injuries. We will build the hospital almost entirely out of the melted metal from all of the guns. It will feature the names of innocent people who have died at the hands of gun violence.
The NRA has opened the first salvo in marshalling its forces for the 2014 campaign. They have their army in place. They can say, "See, we won't let them take your guns. We offered a solution to prevent Sandy Hook crimes, but they didn't listen." We need to have a ban on certain kinds of guns and prevent some people from owning guns, but why not have a limit on how many and what kind of guns a person can own? We say a person cannot legally operate a car if her/his blood has too much alcohol in it. We say that a person can lose the right to operate a car. Why not have laws that deal with the abuse of the right to bear arms?
My Christmas wish is that there not be any more children mowed down. If the statistical rate holds, more children have been killed by guns since the massacre than were killed in the massacre itself. More die yearly than the entire death toll from 9-11. Yet the US reacted with trillions of dollars of spending in response to 911, but not in response to this yearly slaughter.
This christmas haunting I simply can't shake.
The constitution does not require the Speaker of the House to be a member.
Pelosi contacts Bloomberg and guarantees most of her caucus in exchange for key chairmanships. Bloomberg organizes Wall Street to give 40 GOP representatives to abandon Boehner or Cantor and vote for him as House Speaker.
Maybe a stupid Christmas wish, but I the other scenarios for a way out of the insanity of the next 2 years of dysfunction in the house would be as unprecedented.
I'm not sure why anyone is surprised by this turn of events, both from Boehner's "plan B" and the NRA's doubling down on their position.
Republicans have always doubled down on their horrid ideas!
Washington has lost its moral compass and the T-Party and the NRA have formed a circular firing squad. Well, all I have to say to this bunch of subversives is:
"Fire!"
"Support your right to arm bears!" - I love wearing that T-shirt around gun nuts, it drives them crazier than they already are.
Here's a sad note to go along with John Messerly's post: this Christmas season has seen the best sales in memory at gun stores nationwide. Most of them are sold out of most items. Hip-hip-hooray for America the Wonderful Country Full of Intelligent People.
TCinLA, American exceptionalism. Oh, yeah.
The NRA is behaving like a diagnosable sociopath. They show not even a glimmer of recognition of how truly sick and twisted they have become.
It seems completely dissonant to me that conservatives insist that America is the greatest country in the world, yet at the same time they need equivalent firepower to a small SWAT team to defend themselves from "tyranny." If this is such a great country and so much better than everywhere else, why can't we prove it by resolving our disputes in a civilized manner, like—oh, I don't know—reasonable discourse and democratic elections, instead of shooting each other and overthrowing the government all the time?
The NRA's public announcement of its insanity may be a blessing in disguise for the United States. I see this declaration as an additional strong impetus for an immediate demand for intelligent gun control laws in America.
How about a national movement to petition Wayne La Pierre to keep his mouth shut and stop lying on behalf of arms manufacturers?
So why hasn't the news media begun to point out that the NRA publicly advocates crazy people's rights to still purchase semi-automatic assault weapons with 100 round clips with zero background check at gun shows and yard sales?
The only reason you need a gun that holds more than 10 bullets is to kill people.
Perhaps the NRA is pandering to crazy people for fun and profit?
We definitely know that LaPierre is a psychopath from the way he says we need to put armed guards into schools AND simultaneously continue to sell weapons who's only purpose is to kill people.
That's crazy.
Jesse: In the NRA, "tyranny" is spelled "O-b-a-m-a".
Actually it is possible to convert many guns to full auto with fairly little skill. So we have not seen the upper end of the carnage possible from a single shooter. Consider this Youtube video.
There are drums for shotgun shells and many gun types available on the web. (link)
By the way, rapid fire, high capacity weapons don't need to be semi-automatic. For example consider the opening scene of "The Rifleman" from the early 60's.
An interesting statistic I just ran across:
Americans are 5% of the world's population and own 50% of the world's guns.
TCinLA, #1.13,
Another example of American exceptionalism.
At least, if you do get shot, we have good affordable health insurance................Oh, wait......................................well, there's always the emergency room.
The pollution of the Great Lakes was not caused by industrial waste from factories along their shorelines; the blame belongs to the lakes' 8,000,000 dead fish. See!! I get it.
The first and second amendments are interesting in the use of "abridged" and "infringed." I found what is said to be the original transcript of the Bill of Rights. See the first two:
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
It seems to me that "abridged" and "infringed" have roughly the same meaning. Both speech and arms can be and have been regulated without abridging free speech or infringing on bearing arms.
Why not treat guns like cars. We have the freedom to drive a car IF the car is licensed and IF the driver has a license. It can be argued that the freedom of mobility is as much a right as the freedom of speech or the right to bear arms.
Why not have a person who owns a gun have a license for it and a license for each gun owned? If a person owns more than one car, each must have a license or not be permitted on the roads. Even guns that do not now have a license must get a license.
Why not have the person who uses a gun be licensed? Take and pass a test before getting a license. Must demonstrate proficiency in the use of the gun.
License the gun and license the gun user. Make licensing retroactive, so that all guns must be licensed and all gun users are licensed. After all, if I owned a car in 2012, I still must have a license for it in 2013. If I have no driver's license in 2012, I must get a license before I drive.
The urgency to license guns and gun users is great. After all, guns have one purpose when fired -- to destroy. A car has the purpose of transporting, not killing and a car is licensed and the driver is as well. If a gun is designed to destroy if fired, shouldn't both gun and user be licensed? Penalties for not getting licenses and restrictions can be applied. Even the Supreme Court, there could be sensible regulation of firearms. we don't have sensible regulations now.
Maybe we should make the mentally ill wear coloured badges, so that people would know not to sell them guns.
BOOM! Godwin in one post!
LaPierre is disgusting.
Next thing you know, Muslims will be forced to wear silver Crescent Moons on their clothing...
//BOOM! Godwin in one post!//
But an excellently delivered Godwin. ;-)
A mentally ill database would be full of the NRA and their supporters.
"In a race to the bottom, many conglomerates compete with one another to shock, violate, and offend every standard of civilized society, by bringing an even more toxic mix of reckless behavior and criminal cruelty right into our homes," LaPierre said.
Sounded like he was talking about the NRA there.
I'm sure that the first time a security guard uses their gun inappropriately the answer will be arming teachers. Then his answer when a teacher uses their gun will be to arm students. And on it would go...
VVS,
You bring up an issue, indirectly, that should also be addressed.
At some point, a shooter is going to start killing people in a public place where many people are armed, possibly trained, scared, and in a very chaotic environment.
Someone is going to 'accidentally' shoot innocent people in this scenario (it will happen). They may even be 'trained' properly and considered a 'responsible gun owner.' But in the end, people are going to shoot to protect themselves or attempt to neutralize a threat and will miss, or in the chaos that is happening, 'accidentally' shoot innocent people (even children).
So what then?
Are we going to say they were not 'trained' well enough? What excuse will be used for those unnecessary deaths, by the NRA and the people who refuse to see how dangerous they are making America with their irrational viewpoints?
It's very 'GOP' to make excuses for failure. It's very 'NRA" to ignore the danger you're supporting to make a lot of money. It's very 'Right Wing' to create your own reality, ignore facts and other viewpoints that should be considered in the discussion.
This is just what we need: An issue that delusional Republicans 'care' about that has to be discussed in America (Will the GOP fall back into old habits that get us nowhere?)
It's going to happen. Actually, it has already happened (see Empire State Building cops fiasco; in the AZ shooting, it almost happened). In a chaotic environment with scared, armed people, someone is going to be accidentally shot.
All of these people walking around armed, and in many cases these are concealed weapons. It should scare you. I don't like it.
Weigh your personal freedom against what is likely to happen because every society has 'that dip$hit' with a gun who will kill some people. Or it could even be a trained, well-meaning person too, that accidentally shoot innocent people.
We've seen cops do it. Military does it from time to time. Are we back to that silly argument that My Unbridled Freedom is more important than Your Safety/Your Life/Your Family's Life?
I haven't heard this particular issue brought up by our MSM but I think it's worth looking into.
Think of the potential jobs that could be created when we start arming all the teachers and students. We should get a nice GDP bump from the additional gun production along with the complementary products: bullets and gun cleaning supplies. And medical supplies. Lots of medical supplies. And pine boxes.
Plus, it will be a boost to the clothing industry. Shoulder holsters will become the newest fashion accessory for trendy adults and youngsters alike.
TRQE-
Oh, it scares me. It frightens me to my core. That was the motivation to my post. They're talking about an arms race that will result in bodies just stacking up.
mpguy-
You left out the body armor industry and the funeral home business, as well.
I remember about 20 years ago someone robbed a jewelry store in Beverly Hills and walked out into the street with hostages and one of the highly trained sharpshooters shot the robber but it turned out the person he shot and killed was instead the manager of the store. I don't remember if they caught or killed the robber but who knows how it would have turned out if they had continued to negotiate. My point being even in the best case scenario (highly trained professional) deadly mistakes occur.
Don't forget about the private security business - for those who can afford it, of course.
And all of those stylish holsters will have to include a pocket for your smart phone.
mpguy,
Sounds good to me. Trendy idea! I'll get my six year old grandaughter a belt to carry her little six shooter into her school.
When the Dunblane massacre happened in my ancestral home, Scotland, guns were taken away. No massacres since then. The UK's decision was to remove guns.
The best America has come up with is MORE GUNS.
More American exceptionalism.
TheRealQuestionEverything- the scenario that you describe has already happened. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/25/empire-state-building-shooting-nypd-bullets-shot-all-nine_n_1830007.html Fully trained police officers injured innocent bystanders. What on earth does the NRA think "armed volunteers" are going to do in a tense situation at a school? And how will the police that show up to deal with the gunman know who the good guys are? There is just so much that can go wrong with the NRA's suggestion.
Memorial gardens and crematoriums.
With the so called logic of the NRA lets put armed guards in movie theaters, schools airports playgrounds golf courses beaches parks and one on every corner in every neighborhood while we are at it! Won't that be wonderful !! Good god where is the common sense ? All this will inspire the crackpots with their guns is that they will have even more targets, more reasons to go play shootem up in public. A perfect example of an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind!!!
When arming teachers was suggested I thought about how frustrated some teachers must be either intermittently with their fractious students, or all the time with the negative drumbeat about how worthless they are and undeserving of pay or pensions ... Yes, by all means, let's arm them if you want to see more massacres...
How shameless arms manufacturers are, sending La Pierre out to tout for selling more guns in the wake of this tragic shooting.
Remember when Condi Rice called the horrendous devastation of the tsunami in Indonesia "an opportunity"? Same mentality.
Wonder who's going to pay for all these armed guards/police/military? I say, you buy a gun, and for each and every gun you own (with a sliding scale based on its power) you pay a surcharge, fee, tax...yearly to pay for them. Freedom isn't free.
And let's not forget-- who's going to be in charge of the screening process for these innumerable armed guards? Are we going to have the proper process set up to guarantee that these guys won't be the ones to shoot up the school?!
What if one of the hired security guards becomes enraged by a fight breaking out? What would the rules be for the guards as to when to become involved and when not to be involved? What if one of the hired security guards snaps and kills those they are designated to protect?
I can go on and on with what ifs that outweigh any chance of this being beneficial for anyone besides gunmakers. It would cost taxpayers more, it would be more stressful on parents, teacahers, and students, and it's just all together a disaster waiting to happen.
I asked similar questions to someone. Apparently playing what if is a bad librul thing. We should never go beyond "armed guard WILL take out the shooter. The end."
My daughter's teacher, on the other hand, is not enthusiastic at the idea of arming teachers. See, I have no qualms about asking people who might be affected by stupidity on the part of others what they think. Sadly, the people who want to inflict stupidity don't like questions.
That whirring sound you hear is my late father-in-law, turning in his grave. He was a rare bird, a combat veteran of two wars, a life member of the NRA, a man whose hobbies all revolved around firearms -- collecting, shooting, reloading, going to the range -- who also believed that the country was dangerously awash in guns, and that stricter regulation and enforcement were essential for public safety.
Andy,
That is the problem in this day and age. Every gun owner thinks that there should be MORE gun regulations, and control.... But of course not for them.
..And therein lies the problem...
No, Andy, the vast majority of us gun owners actually support common sense laws and restrictions, and we are sickened by the NRA...
Then Lebowsky Dude, you and your cohort of rational gun owners need to take back the NRA from LaPierre and his cabal and return it to the hunters/hobbyists organization that it used to be.
My father is a lifelong NRA member. At 82 years old Dad isn't as astute a critical thinker as he used to be, and has swallowed the current NRA paranoia in toto. The amount of money he sends to them makes me ill. An honest question, what would it take to remove LaPierre from the VP/CEO position?
Again the problem of the people in charge totally ignoring their membership. Really depressing. No one is discussing getting rid of all guns. You know it, I know it, but sadly NRA leadership does not.
Trouvera: I was once a member, 25 years ago. The crap they send you is astounding, and insulting. Rational gun owners leave the NRA, we don't stick around to try and change rigid and stupid people...
The NRA is behaving like a diagnosable sociopath. They show not even a glimmer of recognition of how truly sick and twisted they have become.
eddievroom,
Wayne LaPierre is a psychopath. They are never wrong in their own eyes.
I think all guns should be registered AND INSURED just like your car. The owner would have to hold a policy on each gun that will cover any damage done by that gun. The more deadly the gun, the higher the premium. We are required to have insurance on our cars to cover the damage they do. This won't make guns go away but it may cut down on how many guns people own. And this would make people more aware of their responsibility to keep their guns locked away safely since they would be responsible for damages done by others who got their hands on their guns. A ten round clip should cost $100 per year, 30 rounds $300 per year, 100 rounds $1000 a year. The insurance industry will love it and make tons of money on it to donate to their republican friends so everybody's happy.
Oops, double post. Sorry.
Not that uncommon. Polling in recent years has consistently shown that large majorities of NRA members support increasing gun restrictions in a variety of ways. The NRA hasn't represented its own members in decades.
"The NRA hasn't represented its own members in decades."
Then why don't they do something abut it?
I meant to also say if anyone is going to watch this, make sure to have nausea medicine and a strong beverage. It made me literally nauseous to watch him go on. I was shaking by the time I turned it off.
I could not watch it all either - still can't!
This has got to be truly the most bizarre speech I've ever seen given!!
As for this being a train wreck? I've been to a few trainwrecks and this is MUCH worse! This is like watching an insane person acting out and knowing there isn't anything you can do to stop him!
Yep, this was really, really, stupid! It makes me sick.
Sickening is the word for the week. Since people have been massacred in all sorts of places, maybe LaPierre would like to sell an automatic rifle to my priest.
Just in case someone in town decides Mass is a bad idea.
Is this what we've been reduced to in America? Looks that way. Well, again, what can you expect when the lunatics are running the asylum?
Well, he does prove the need for crazy people to be in supervised environments.
I have three gun-owner NRA member friends who have e-mailed me to say he's totally nuts.
We've had people with unrestricted ability to carry weapons as side-arms. Can you say OK Corral? We decided that's not how we want to live. But evidently, conservatives want to take us back to the "good 'ol days". I actually saw someone comment that in the Wild West, they didn't have school shootings!
Not only was the speech stupid, but LaPierre's acting is pathetic. Watch the affected pained facial expressions and his won't-fool-anybody vocal cadences. The dude is the definition of pathetic.
The good ol' days? No. We're blazing new trails of ugliness each and every day we take this shhit from the wingnuts. They have to be crushed.
Disgusted...
That's it. We are now up to our a$# in alligators and there's no plan to drain the swamp.
Good job, guys. A new low has been reached.
The dude has felony bad hair, so prepare yourself for that if you choose to click on the video. I long for Canard-Free Zones, where real people can have real discussions...
Just another commercial for his gun sales promoting trade organization. Why does any responsible media organization give him the air time when we all know what he's going to say is: "buy more guns".
the nra has a solution. put troop in school, churches,stores,everywhere.
does the nra what to take over this country? is this their plot?
What about another NRA "right to bear arms" solution? Let people own and operate a gun, in the same way that we permit people to operate motor vehicles. Even if we accept the NRA's definition of "infringed," there is no indication that the right to bear arms have limits to its full exercise. Even the right to free speech has limits. The great supreme court justice, Oliver Wendell Holmes, noted that the freedom of speech does not allow you to yell "Fire" in a crowded theater. If free speech has it limits, then the right to bear arms should have its limits.
It is notable that a person can operate only one car at a time, but can carry as many guns as she/he can carry into a crowded theater or an elementary school.
I think Wayne L. has just pulled a Bull Connor in America's war against abuse of the 2nd Amendment.
Jimes.......
The "Honorable" Judge Alito of the SC killed that idea by stating we are entitled to own assault weapons because we need a militia against the government.
jimes, #8.1
I think Wayne LaPierre took the wrong meaning when the president said,
"Fired up! Ready to go!"
No, no. The answer is simple. Every child is issued a certificate a birth for one handgun. They can turn in the certificate on their 5th birthday and get the real thing. After some training they will be allowed to carry it wherever they go. A law will be passed which makes it illegal to go anywhere without your gun. All adults who dont have a gun will be required by law to own one. Once everyone is armed we can then all breath a sigh of relief knowing that we are safe. Simple
Hail all Politicians: Hear this Excuse, the Excuse of the Ages: NRA chief blames Hollywood, media, music, and more for culture of violence
Representatives, Senators of the dysfunctional US Congress and of all elected Officials of the greater nation and equally dysfunctional Governors and Legislatures of this country diminished by your service and your office.
This starts out by sounding unfair by seeming to apply to all the same weather, as it is to confuse sunny days with blustering cold ones. It is not as unfair as the events of the carnage of Newtown, where our children were taken from us. Children taken unfairly less by the forces of evil than that of persistent neglect, deliberative intentions and effort to creating more governmental dysfunction by the elected ones.
It was in those sunny days the elected of this country you were taken aside into the quiet rooms, persuaded to feel the right, the need, the purpose, the dedication to the darkness, that all the government of a people were plotting against you. It is expected that this weakness (overly strong belief) is present in every one seeking elected office; it is the very strength of your belief in yourself that you trained to project as your strength against the opposition. It was in that quiet bejeweled room that you were shown the easy way, the resources that could be added to yours; in the end the temptation became a way of life.
Dance to score card, dance to check list, dance to the approved list. The more dancing to the tune the stronger the strings attached to your heart and hands. It is easy to believe that it was all about you, all your beliefs were due to reading score cards, and then practice the lines, and the talking points. Reagan the actor taught you these things; read the script, follow the directors advice, memorize the lines, the more the strings were pulled the more assured and comfortable you became in your role, how natural the performance arts feel in front of the cameras and the crowds, you could follow the bouncing ball above the talking points, the strings remain unseen.
(We know the why of your nose held high it's to see your smile wide.)
Here is a list dedicated to twenty and six people you were elected to represent, to serve, to swear allegiance to:
Can you now say it wasn't you who forgot, forgot before you could remember. Who it was that elected you, who pulled the lever, check the box, filled the oval or pressed a button? Can you now say wasn't you that forgot that you were supposed to be the best representative for those people, and that all those people are yours to represent? Can you now say that you only obey the strings attached to wrists, speak only the words made by others, with thoughts so foreign that you have to look in the mirror to remember who you need to be pt. pay homage to the campaign donor looking back?
Since you cannot recognize who you are, since you cannot perform on stage without the prepping cards, since you cannot ever be seen processing in your own brain thought what we consider natural thinking, then how would we know that you are not who you pretend to be?
Who are you but a performing art project, purchased by an interlocking directorate fronting for an endless set of secretly funded hijacked interest groups hiding the wealth expended for your unholy undemocratic cause? You are in good company, facing like-kind brethren, who have also been turned toward darkness, by the same giant wealth machine that has bought entire tiers of leadership.
Add you name to the list of the bought to be directed by minions paid millions by club member billionaires, who also bought by their own wealth.
Beware these evil ones will work to their death to destroy by dysfunction a government that they practically own, not once showing how to make work the government that they have elected for them to run, guide and direct.
Beware these evil ones that make belief in others a belief strong enough to be allowed to consume our children.
Beware and be unfair to these evil ones, where ever they appear, and whatever they speak, be as unfair to them as we have allow unfairness to murder our lives.
The voter demands cannot end by the electing of a tyrant, a villain or an evil one. Beware that soon if not always wealth is given away by its lust for power, and the belief, as practiced, the belief that anything can be bought by wealth, except the lives of our children.
i hope you sent out 535 copies of that beautiful post.
thank you.
Hey LaPierre - it was very difficult to watch you and bear witness to your world view!
If you hadn't noticed, an allegedly mentally incompetent youth got a hold of firearms - yes those things we call guns that have a trigger, a bullet, and a deranged intent in the wrong hands - shot his own mom, shot his way into an educational facility, and massacred people with his mom's guns!
LaPierre, you and your WTF reality-check are not appreciated by even us gun toting citizens! You must be suffering from your circular logic where if toasters were outlawed, only outlaws would have toasters!
The penalties for discharging a gun illegally, irresponsibly, and/or recklessly need to be strengthened with mandatory jail time for the offender! Back ground checks need to be fortified with the power of the purse, safety certification needs to be imposed, and more community mental health care funding is needed for the likes of our mentally depressed among us!
LaPierre just doesn't get it! -Kevo
With parallel recertification exercises as with most health care workers , and other licensed civilian professionals are required .
Ready aim require .
Definitely. I mean, most of us don't blink when we are required to have safety training, certification, licensing, and liability insurance in order to operate a thousand-pound steel box of death. Why should it be any less restrictive for firearms?
Maybe this is their much awaited jobs plan?
How about we fund the police officer in every single school with an additional tax on guns and ammo?
My thoughts, exactly!
Let's register all guns, and have $10 a year license fee. On each one. You may have as many guns as you can afford. Mortars, tanks, and rockets, too! Because, ya know the 2nd Amendment is sacrosanct.
Then we come to Pepy LaPew's "Cop in every school" plan. Cost? Only 100 billion dollars. A year.
Mercy. me, how will we ever pay for it? Well, we could raise that yearly license fee to $100. Or $1000. A year. Per gun. Ball's in your court, fella.
Day - I always thought that one should have to pay at least as much to keep their gun registered as we have to pay to keep our cars registered. Here in Illinois, that's $99 per year for your license plate and if you're lucky enough to own a car in Chicago, $75 per year for a city sticker.
Now, how about we sink our teeth into talking about taxes on ammo? The proceeds could go to equipping more hospitals with trauma centers.
MindBend - I agree. In addition to car registration, I have to pay $20 bucks a year for a dog license.
First off, I want to thank all of you who watched this and told about it, because I couldn't bear to click the button. I think my head would've exploded.
In response to Mind and Day, your snarky comments are effectively pointing to the hypocrisy of LaPierre and the gun lobby. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a Second Amendment proclaimer who wasn't also for "limited government," saying we're already spending way more than the country can afford and need to make deep cuts. In other words, the Tea Party.
Well, now they're saying we need to hire a whole new class of worker--the armed guard--which will not produce anything or add to the GDP in any way. But we need those thousands of guards "to keep our children safe." Hogwash! Or to quote Sen. Reid, "Poppycock!"
But talk about making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Just a week ago, details were slowly emerging about this devastating tragedy, made even more poignant as it happened against the backdrop of a town all decorated in anticipation of Christmas. Now the mouthpiece of the NRA is using this as a forum to pump ever more weapons into our communities. He should be ashamed.
He should be ashamed
Their shamelessness is as bottomless as their ignorance.
Day,
Why should I have to pay taxes on property I've already purchased? I have a few guns that I keep for self protection. I got them after my car got broken into and my neighbor's got their house broken into on 4 different occasions. Why should I have to pay taxes when my guns have NEVER been used to harm a single innocent bystander, and the only reason why I have them is because I have decided to take enough personal responsibility to protect my own LIFE.
How about we decide that you have to register your knives? And your kitchen scissors. What, you've never harmed a single person with your knives or scissors? Who cares, you COULD harm someone with them, so we get to tax you $1,000 a year just to own them.
No, people shouldn't be able to own whatever weapons they want. Some weapons CANNOT be used DEFENSIVELY. It's impossible to defend yourself, as an individual, with an atom bomb. Or can't do the same with chemical or biological weapons either. Or with grenade launchers.
But what if you were a victim of a home invasion from multiple gunmen? If that happened to you, then what weapon would you want more than an AR-15 or an AK-47? Oh, you don't know what those things are? You know, they're known as "assault rifles", expect they're not really assault rifles since they're not full auto.
No, that would never happen would it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_rz2wBYin4
Alva,
Your car got broken into, your neighbor's house got burlarized - was anybody's life EVER in danger? Yet you need a gun to protect yourself.
And then you get TRULY crazy about MULTIPLE GUNMEN breaking into YOUR house to assault little old you - you really need to see a shrink!!
It must be HARD to live with such paranoia - there are meds that will help you. BTW, paranoia is a mental illness - so should you REALLY own guns???
@Alva Goldbook
"Why should I have to pay taxes on property I've already purchased?"
I assume you are not a home owner. And do not have a car- oh, wait: you DO! And every year- year after year after year, you sent money to the state government.
Paranoia is a mental illness.
Get help, not guns.
Alva, you currently do have to pay taxes on property you currently own (car, home, boat) additionally many activities require a license in order to enjoy them (hunting, fishing, owning a dog/cat in many communities) further, many people pay HOA or condominium fees for the privilege of living in a particular community or for a service such as having streets cleared and lawns mowed. The point is, this is not exactly an unprecedented idea and it would be directly tied to the service being provided (armed guards to protect children).
To your "home defense argument." if we are going to say that the 2d amendment is about home defense then it needs to be amended to reflect that. The current argument for the 2d amendment in fact the very reason for its existence is to protect us from a tyrannical federal government (i.e. the reason it discusses militias). It is not about home defense or hunting, that is what it has morphed into over the years. However, if we accept your argument that it truly is about home defense then there are very reasonable regulations we can pass. No automatic or semi-automatic assault rifles. No large magazine clips etc.
Alva: As opposed to taxing you on property you don't own? Do you do that frequently?
Sure, I gotta pay property taxes on my house and car, but I've got a couple guitars, a nice big TV and a surround sound system. I don't pay property taxes on those things. I don't pay property taxes on my furniture, on my dishes, on my refrigerator, or my stove. No property taxes on my books or CDs, or my vinyl, no property taxes on my power tools. Just property taxes on my house, which is tax deductible since I'm paying a mortgage, and property taxes on my old beat up car. So why pay property taxes on my guns? What sense does that make?
Once, if someone breaks into your home, you have no way of knowing if they're there to steal some things, rape your wife, or strangle your kids. I do know one thing: anyone who breaks into my home is going to die of lead poisoning.
LaPierre is obviously the most insane person in the US right now. Do you think he will be willing to put his name first on his "mentally ill" list?
oar - That's exactly what I was thinking through the entire speech. I could not believe what I was hearing. These people are so insulated that they have no clue that the majority of Americans don't buy their crap.
Youse Guys are missing the obvious ...
Presidential Timbre .
Hmmm. I think I'd put Mr. LaPierre right at the top of that database he's asking for.
Enter Joe Biden. Go get 'em, Joe.
I can't wait to hear "malarkey" again.
I'm all for a Mental Illness Database. Let's give everyone in this Country a Psych-Eval. Downside for the NRA is, most of it's members will no longer be able to own a gun, but hey fesses happens right! Then they'll just be saying the Psych-Eval is unconstitutional because it's an invasion of privacy blah-de-blah-blah!
Right on! Good point!
Calvin, when I'm in a mood, I'll say that the perfect gun laws would be to make it illegal for all Republicans to own a gun, make it optional for Democrats, and make it mandatory for the homeless.
What percentage of the population do you think have ever had a psyche evaluation? I wonder how this compares to how many people have had other routine medical evaluations, like checking their blood pressure, getting chest X rays or getting blood tests.
Per LaPierre, the NRA has only 4 million members. I've heard that they never remove the names of those who die or do not renew membership. If we all joined, we could take over the organization. We could elect a board of directors and select leaders who would transform the organization.
Just a thought I've had for several years!
Honestly, I was just thinking the same thing. Either a mass enrollment in the NRA and then move to remove LaPierre from leadership, or promote membership in Mayor's Against Illegal Guns (the Bloomberg/Menino group) and create a viable counter-weight to them.
OCCUPY THE NRA!!!
Brilliant!
Let's roll. . . .
Reminds me of Archie Bunker.... wanting to give each airline passenger a gun to prevent hijackings.
/facepalm
Here was the NRA's chance to come off as a credile player in finding a solution by working with the government, still maintaining their political influence, and smelling rosy.
Then Wayne LaPierre opened his mouth and stuck an elephant sized foot in it.
Someone needs to take him out back and beat the living @!$%# out of him.
Gawd!
I am very afraid for this country. Not for the usual reasons, though. The debt problem can be resolved. The revenue problem can be resolved. The gun control problem can be resolved. The entitlement problem can be resolved. Heck, even the fiscal cliff problem can be resolved.
What can't be worked out is the culture of "It's my way or NO WAY". Have we forgotten what it means to be part of a society, or are we just individuals who all just happen to live in same top-level Internet domain?? Have we forgotten that there are other people out there, or are we just so self-centered that it is all about me and my needs and my wants?
The NRA's attitude to the Newtown massacre makes me cringe.
Have we devolved to "Peace on earth, Goodwill towards men, and get the heck out of my way"?
Being Canadian I can tell you that not everyone has forgotten how to live as a community. The biggest difference between our societies is that in Canada we function as a 'we' dare I say almost socialist, *gasp*. Versus yourselves whom I see as a individual society.
We may pay a little more in taxes here, but that's what it takes to ensure the social programs we as a society NEED are there. The more the individuals in our country hurt, the more we all hurt. Of course we don't get it all right, and our politicians bicker and act like selfish children just like yours, we are by no means perfect.
We have guns, and we have mentally ill people, we also have differnt policies and opinions on society's role in dealing with both.
I know you live in the "Greatest Country in the World" Trust me, I've heard it many, many times. But I also think I come from a pretty awesome country and think that we may have some lesson or examples that may help solve what you feel is unsolvable.
Too many Americans have heard "GodisgreatGodisgood" too many times as a child and have conflated their Christian deity with the US. Power is not virtue and rhetoric is not reality, but too many Americans cannot apply those simple truths to the "Fatherland".
AriesWalker, great post! I've spent time in your lovely country and agree that there's a whole different sense of self and relation to others. The U.S. is like a speeding train careening off the tracks in so many ways. Or should I say going Right off the Cliff.
It seems Rachel and Bob Herbert were almost precisely on target on the show last night when they predicted the NRA would blame everything but guns. Who could have guessed though this would be the NRA's "solution"? In an era of bad idea after bad idea, this has to be among the worst if not the worst.
personally, i think the worst was "train the kids to run at the shooter and bring him down." but that's just me.
Just a note...Columbine High School had armed guards. http://bit.ly/TGFHUD
Just need an ED-209 for every school.
That'll work, until Robocop shows up and blows it to bits.
Now, let's see what the press corps does with this display....
Of course they were not allowed to ask any questions....but after that speech, why bother?
Probably not a coincidence that the NRA waited to make their big statement until well into the last workday before what is, in effect, a 4-day holiday break for the press, politicians, and the rest of us. They know that by the time the press gets back in full-swing next Wednesday afternoon, this will be "old-news", and the "fiscal cliff" will be back front and center. Hopefully, I'll be proven wrong...
Oh yeah great Christmas dinner conversation...mass murder of babies, dysfunctional GOP Congress, NRA platforms to sell more guns, fiscal cliff potential economy crash for New Years, your taxes will go up because the GOP can't do their job and govern because terrorist have taken over the Congress.
Between last night and this morning I'm almost kinda hoping the misinterprestation of the Mayan calendar "end of the world today" prediction is right. Only thing is I'm here and I'm dumbfounded. On the 31st, can we actually say "Happy New Year" and mean it???!!!
Be afraid...be very afraid...
You've entered the 'End of the world' it is now "Wayne LaPierre's" world. It might be just a matter of time and it might just be a one big circular firing squad, but at the very least campaign contributions, gun and ammunition sales will increase.
Even the fiscal cliff offers the answer to budget problems; it seems that if the defense budget is unanimously approved that it would be beyond wise to include the whole of the federal budget as being part of the defense budget.
There would be no further need for any government elected or privately funded, the guns will solve every problem foreign and domestic, and is ideally suited to take down all of the works of civilization.
Pieces on Earth nary a one left to wish good will to. Yes it is 'End of the world', as predicted and before you very eyes.
Happy to see it over and over and over and over again, next year and all years to come.